Passenger data clauses in border contracts

Last checked: 21 October 2026 · Rules and oversight

Passenger data clauses are the terms in laws, circulars and supplier agreements that decide who holds API and PNR data, where it is processed, who pays and who can see it. Kenya's regulations require processing only in a secure location within Kenya ¹, and a Kenyan circular names SITA as the fee collection provider ³. The EU PNR Directive puts data in a national Passenger Information Unit ⁸. Many supplier contracts are not published, so terms are often unknown ^3,6.

Data fields covered: API identity and flight data, PNR booking data such as contact, payment and itinerary ^1,8
Who sends: Air carriers ^1,8
Who receives: A government unit, such as the Director of Immigration Services in Kenya or a PIU in the EU ^1,8
Common contract questions: Data holder, hosting location, term, funding and fees ^3,4 ⁶
Date checked: 21 October 2026 ^3,4 ^5,7

What a passenger data clause covers

A government that collects API and PNR data needs software, a network link to airlines, a place to store the data and staff to analyse it ^5,8. Each of those can sit with a ministry, a UN programme or a private supplier. The clauses that matter most to travellers decide four things: who holds the data, where it is processed, how the system is paid for and who may see the data ^1,3 ⁸.

Some of these terms are set in law. Others sit in supplier agreements that are not published ^3,4 ⁶.

Data holder: the authority named as receiving and keeping the data ^1,8
Location: whether processing must happen inside the country ^1,2
Funding: public budget, donor support or a fee on tickets ^3,5 ⁷
Access: which agencies may query the data and on what conditions ^1,8

Where the law sets the terms

Kenya's 2024 immigration regulations name the Director of Immigration Services as the receiver of API and PNR data and require that processing and analysis happen only in a secure location within Kenya ¹. They set formats, timeframes, a six-month depersonalisation rule and a five-year cap for data needed in specified offence cases ¹. Kenya's Data Protection Act lets the Cabinet Secretary prescribe that certain processing take place on a server or data centre in Kenya, on grounds of strategic state interests or revenue protection ².

In the EU, Directive (EU) 2016/681 of 27 April 2016 requires each Member State to establish or designate a Passenger Information Unit (PIU) ⁸. Carriers send PNR data to the PIU, which keeps it for five years and depersonalises it after six months ⁸. The EU Court of Justice ruled on 21 June 2022 in case C-817/19 that a general five-year retention period applied to all passengers is not allowed ⁹.

Who pays: fees and donor software

Kenya funds its system with a passenger fee. Circular AIC 14/25, published 23 October 2025, sets US$4.95 per passenger per international journey segment to cover the cost of capturing, transmitting, processing and administering API/PNR data ³. The fee is collected on the ticket ³.

The UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme takes a different route. It deploys its goTravel software free of charge and provides support and maintenance ⁵. The programme page does not state where goTravel data is hosted or who controls it ⁵.

On 30 July 2026 IATA, AFRAA and AASA asked African governments not to fund API and PNR programmes through charges imposed on airlines or passengers, saying such fees increase the cost of travel ⁷.

Country examples

Country or bloc	What the record states	What is not published
Kenya	SITA named as service provider and collection gateway. Carriers sign a SITA Payment Undertaking. Fees settled onward to Government ^3,4	Contract term, hosting arrangements, data holder within the SITA arrangement ^3,4
Ghana	Rock Africa chief executive spoke at the 4 August 2025 launch of the API/PNR Command Centre, as reported by Iddi Yire of the Ghana News Agency ⁶	Contract terms, data holder, hosting, term and funding ⁶
European Union	PIU in each Member State holds PNR data, with a data protection officer ⁸	Not applicable, terms set in the Directive ⁸

Questions to put to any border data contract

Records on this site show that the public text often stops at the fee or the launch ^3,6. Auditors, journalists and parliamentarians can check a contract against the law it serves ^1,8.

Does the contract name the government body as the data holder, as Kenya's regulations and the EU Directive do ^1,8
Does it require processing inside the country where the law says so ^1,2
Who collects any fee, and where does the money go ^3,4
What happens to the data and the system when the contract ends. The Kenyan and Ghanaian records cited here do not say ^4,6
Does it allow the data protection authority to inspect and audit, as Article 15 of the EU Directive provides for national supervisory authorities ⁸

Common questions

Who owns passenger data collected for border checks?

The law usually names a government receiver. Kenya names the Director of Immigration Services and the EU names a national PIU ^1,8.

Can passenger data be processed outside the country?

Kenya's regulations require API and PNR processing in a secure location within Kenya ¹.

Why do some tickets carry an API/PNR fee?

Some states fund systems through passenger charges. Kenya charges US$4.95 per segment ³.

Is UN goTravel software free?

The UN programme says goTravel is deployed free of charge with support and maintenance ⁵.

Rules and fees change. Check the official site linked above before you apply or pay. Spotted an error? Email hello@passengerdataexplained.org with the official link.

Sources

Where passenger data is hosted
Where governments store API, PNR and biometric passenger records, what laws say about servers and location, and how donated and vendor systems fit in.
Data controller vs processor at borders
Who decides why and how API and PNR data are processed, who processes them on instructions, and how EU, Kenyan and Philippine law split the roles.
Data sovereignty and border systems
Where border and passenger data must be stored, who can reach it, and what Kenyan, EU, Philippine and UN rules say about hosting and transfer.
Kenya passenger data record
What passenger data Kenya collects from airlines and travellers, which agency receives it, how long it is kept, and the US$4.95 API/PNR fee.
Ghana passenger data record
What is on the public record about Ghana's API and PNR systems, the aviation security directive behind them, and the Data Protection Commission.